It's a pillow that wraps around your torso to give you the height needed to breastfeed a baby comfortably without causing any unnecessary strain on your neck, arm or back muscles.
A newborn baby always demands food and you could be breastfeeding about 10 or more times a day in the first couple of months. Breastfeeding is literally back breaking work if you have to do it seated in an uncomfortable position with a hunched back trying to prop up the baby on the one hand. Doing this continuously for 2 to 3 months is enough to get you to a chiropractor's chamber. And nobody wants that.
So here's the lowdown on all the benefits of using a nursing pillow and why you should definitely invest in one.
A Nursing Pillow can be used for both Breastfeed and Bottle-feed babies
A Nursing Pillow is versatile equipment. You might think you will have no use of it once you're done breastfeeding, but you are wrong. For babies, who haven't learned to sit up straight on their own, nursing pillows can help prop them up while bottle feeding.
Nursing Pillows save your body from Unwanted Strain
When you are feeding your child for several hours a day, it pays to be comfortable. As a new mom, you could be feeding the baby about 10 times a day. That puts a lot of pressure on your neck, back, and arm muscles. Add to this another problem of getting the baby to latch correctly. Latching troubles usually result in painful nipples. Nursing pillows give you the proper height so that the baby is tummy to tummy with you, and you don't have to break your back to feed them. You could adjust the belt at the end to give you maximum support and comfort.
Women recovering from a caesarian section are recommended to not lay their babies directly on the tummy, which might cause undue stress on the healing stitches. Nursing pillows come in handy in such situations because they create a buffer between your belly and the baby.
Many moms complain that the baby does not latch properly to the nipple or that there is not enough milk transfer when they are trying to feed the baby. According to doctors, improper latching often results in insufficient milk transfer even if the mother produces a lot of milk. Nursing pillows encourage latching by bringing the baby to the right height. The increased level helps the mother to properly feed the baby.
Nursing pillows were initially just u-shaped pillows that moms used to prop their babies on before they learned to crawl. Over time, mothers being the innovative creatures they are, started using those pillows for nursing. So, nursing pillows are great for tummy time, mommas!